There are times that I encounter serious discrimination that is the result of stupid rules that some try to say exist for the ďbenefitĒ of persons with disabilities. Last week, a trip to Philadelphia brought out a good example of one of those rules and the true effects of it.

I traveled to that city to attend a conference. I decided to take my own vehicle rather than fly or take the train for two reasons: one was that it was not that long a trip and I donít mind driving as long as I can avoid commuter traffic and icy conditions; the second was that I did not know what other local transportation options I would have in Philadelphia.

While I beat the snow driving down there, the first night dropped more than a foot of snow on the City of Brotherly Love. That made it too risky for me to drive. I was unfamiliar with the roads and where parking would be available. I could have handled those conditions without the snow but not with it.

The concierge at the hotel where I was staying said that she thought the conference was going to arrange a shuttle for participants, but she was sure that none of the available shuttles in the area would be wheelchair accessible. She said there was a (read that as one) taxi company that had some wheelchair accessible vans and she would try to arrange for one. She got on the telephone and tried to work her magic.

After an hour of trying to get the dispatcher to understand the need and the fact that scheduled passengers may have canceled because of the snow, she hung up the phone, not knowing what other options might be available. The dispatcher just cited the rule that these taxis were only available to people who used wheelchairs if the wheelchair users made a reservation 24 hours in advance. Otherwise, taxis in Philadelphia work mostly on the hail system rather than on reservations.

Keep in mind that taxi drivers only make money if they are transporting customers, so, if a scheduled passenger cancels, drivers will look to pick up other fares. One such taxi with wheelchair access pulled up in front of my hotel in the hopes of picking up a fare. I thought I was in luck until I was told that I could not take it because I did not reserve it 24 hours in advance. The driver picked up another fare that was going to the same conference as I was.

I called the company and finally got through to someone who called in a driver who was off. This driver picked me up that day and provided me with my required transportation for the rest of the conference. I was truly grateful and tipped him appropriately.

However, while I was fortunate to connect with this driver, itís clear that Philadelphia still has a pretty big problem. In the entire city, there is only one company that has wheelchair-accessible taxis and that company only has six of them. This is the reason they give for insisting on reservations for this one population. If you use a wheelchair, you cannot take a taxi unless you call at least 24 hours in advance. If you only call 23Ĺ hours in advance, you will be denied a ride. If someone else cancels, you still donít get a ride unless you have that reservation.

Anyone who does not use a wheelchair can just wave down a taxi. Does anyone else see the problem with this kind of rule?

Annette Bourbonniere of Newport is an activist for the rights of persons with disabilities, serving on both local and statewide advocacy groups for that purpose. Send her email at access-ability@verizon.net.

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